Foldover is a common, yet complex, transient boundary condition in several ‘metal forming processes’ including the barrelling compression test (BCT). The onset of foldover during BCT is comparable to that of necking in the tensile test. However, its role in flow curve identification has been ignored in the current literature. Methods to detect and measure its onset and growth during the processes are also not available. We propose three methods to identify the onset of foldover and measure its progress with deformation. These are conducted together with case studies of BCT to have a fundamental understanding of the onset and growth of foldover in the test and more general cases. Experimental and numerical methods are developed to accomplish this based on (1) direct measurement using tracing points, (2) energybased and (3) geometry-based indirect measurements. These outline the required supplementary data and allow proper detection of the onset. In the first method, the migration of tracing points from the free surface to the platen-sample interface, simulated numerically, is monitored and measured visually. The second method employs the load-stroke data to calculate the total power input to the deforming system. In the third method, a criterion has been derived to detect the onset of foldover by monitoring the geometry of the sample profile during the test and comparing it to a reference quadratic profile. The observations and outputs of each method are compared and discussed.
